If bacteria containing the lac operon were grown in low glucose and high lactose, which of the following would be true?a. The lac operon would be repressed by the lac repressor.b. The lac operon would not be repressed, but also would not be activated; it would be transcribed at basal levels.c. The lac operon would be activated.d. The lac operon would be repressed by the catabolite activated protein
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The correct answer is C. The lac operon would be activated.
The lac operon is a group of genes in bacteria that are responsible for the breakdown of lactose. When lactose is present in high concentrations, it binds to the Lac repressor protein and prevents it from binding to the operator. This allows RNA polymerase to transcribe the genes and produce the enzymes necessary for lactose metabolism.
In low glucose and high lactose conditions, the bacteria will need to rely on alternative energy sources. Since glucose is scarce, the catabolite activated protein (CAP) will not be activated and will not bind to the promoter region of the lac operon to repress transcription. However, the high concentration of lactose will activate the lac operon by binding to the Lac repressor protein and releasing it from the operator. This will allow RNA polymerase to transcribe the genes at a high rate, enabling the bacteria to efficiently utilize lactose as an energy source.
Therefore, the correct answer is C: the lac operon would be activated.
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